By Mark Swendra, Chief of Digital Operations.

We often don't know the past lives of people we see regularly in our stores, on our roads and in our neighborhoods, but when you're 90 years old, and having lived a lifetime, chances are you have some good stories to share.

Such is the story of Doris Prokopi, a resident these last three years in Richmond Hill's Buckhead community, who as an athlete, pushed her body to the limits well beyond the age of most.

Doris was a champion swimmer, gaining accolades well into her 60s and 70s, competing in senior competitions while others her age were sitting in rocking chairs.

Living in the Land O'Lakes community, north of Tampa, Doris was a fixture in the Florida Senior Games during the 1990s and early 2000s. Newspaper clippings from that time highlight these accomplishments. A writer once said, "Doris Prokopi is not content with merely swimming to stay healthy or to keep active. At 60, she remains a fiery competitor intent on being first to reach the finish line."

That same article noted Doris won seven out of eight swimming events that year in the Florida Senior Games. When she was 70, during the 2005 Tampa Bay Senior Games, Doris won an incredible 23 gold medals.

Not bad for someone who didn't start swimming at this level until age 59.

Doris, who worked as a cafeteria cook for a school district, has a son, Eric, who swam on the local high school team. He went on to attend and swim at the University of Florida. Inspired, Doris decided to learn swim strokes and by age 60 joined an adult swim club and began competing in senior games.

By 1994, she was named Florida Senior Games Athlete of the Year, and was honored a year later to serve as an Olympic Torch carrier, igniting the ceremonial flame to symbolize the opening of the 1995 Florida Senior Games.

At age 78, Doris captured five silver and two bronze medals at the 2013 Pan-American Masters Swimming Championships in Sarasota, while competing against more than 2,000 competitive swimmers from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Central and South America.

Doris once said, "If I get to be 100 I will still compete, because it keeps me heathy."

That hasn't quite gone as planned, but today Doris can be seen driving around town, visiting the local newspaper, and staying active. If you see Doris, tell her you now know the story of her champion days and the old adage being true that "you're never too late."